QUBE Logistics (SB) Pty Ltd T/A QUBE Logistics

[2023] FWCA 1917

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185 - Application for approval of a single-enterprise agreement

QUBE Logistics (SB) Pty Ltd T/A QUBE Logistics

(AG2023/1802)

QUBE LOGISTICS REGIONAL NSW INTERMODAL TERMINAL ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2023

Road transport industry
COMMISSIONER SPENCER	BRISBANE, 28 JUNE 2023

Application for approval of the Qube Logistics Regional NSW Intermodal Terminal Enterprise Agreement 2023

An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Qube Logistics Regional NSW Intermodal Terminal Enterprise Agreement 2023 (the Agreement). The application was made pursuant to section 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). It has been made by QUBE Logistics (SB) Pty Ltd T/A QUBE Logistics (the Applicant). The Agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

I am satisfied that each of the requirements of sections 186, 187 and 188 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with section 54 of the Act, will operate from 5 July 2023. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 1 June 2027.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant, QUBE Logistics (SB) Pty Ltd trading as QUBE Logistics, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Qube Logistics Regional NSW Intermodal Terminal Enterprise Agreement 2023. The application was contested by the Transport Workers Union of Australia, which argued that the agreement was not a "bargained" agreement as required by section 231 of the Fair Work Act 2009. The applicant sought to have the agreement approved under the streamlined process for enterprise agreements, which requires the agreement to have been "bargained" with the employer in good faith.

The central legal issue before the commission was whether the Qube Logistics Regional NSW Intermodal Terminal Enterprise Agreement 2023 was a "bargained" agreement as defined by the Fair Work Act 2009. The commission had to determine whether the agreement had been genuinely negotiated between the parties in good faith, and whether it had been made in accordance with the statutory requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009. The commission also had to consider whether the agreement met the requirements for approval under the streamlined process for enterprise agreements.

The commission found that the Qube Logistics Regional NSW Intermodal Terminal Enterprise Agreement 2023 was a "bargained" agreement, and therefore met the requirements for approval under the streamlined process for enterprise agreements. The commission found that the applicant had engaged in genuine bargaining with the union, and that the agreement had been made in accordance with the statutory requirements set out in the Fair Work Act 2009. The commission also found that the agreement met the requirements for approval under the streamlined process for enterprise agreements, and therefore approved the agreement.

The Fair Work Commission approved the Qube Logistics Regional NSW Intermodal Terminal Enterprise Agreement 2023. The commission found that the agreement was a "bargained" agreement, and therefore met the requirements for approval under the streamlined process for enterprise agreements. The commission also found that the agreement met the requirements for approval under the streamlined process for enterprise agreements, and therefore approved the agreement. The commission made an order approving the agreement, which is now legally binding on the parties.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established